Planning 2026: Beyond New Year’s Resolutions
As you enter 2026, it’s time to transform your New Year’s resolutions from fond wishes into a strategic business plan that will result in measurable growth. Many leaders start with “I should…” or “We need to…” but by combining the power of intention-setting with disciplined strategic planning, you can build a roadmap that actually produces results.
Start with Big Intentions
Start by picturing your vision: what will you be celebrating on December 31, 2026? This forward-looking view connects you to first creating your intentions, then setting specific goals, and lastly to developing plans that result in concrete measures. A few examples around intentions are:
“We intend to double our service-line revenue,”
“We intend to build a high-performing team of senior talent,” or
“We intend to stand out in the market and be the most visible solution in our segment.”
Intentions provide your plan with a clear direction — transforming vague hopes into concrete purpose.
Use the Four Strategic Pillars
To turn those intentions into a business plan, align them with four key pillars:
Financials,
Sales,
Marketing &
Visibility
For each intention, ask: what needs to happen under each pillar? For example,
If the intention is “be more visible,” under Marketing, you might commit to launching a quarterly thought-leadership campaign, increasing qualified leads by 30%, and raising conversion rates by X %.
If the intention is “build a strong team,” under Team/Operations, you might plan to recruit two senior managers by Q2, implement onboarding and training programs, and set employee engagement targets.
Use a SWOT and Back-Planning Approach
Before setting goals, conduct a SWOT analysis—identify your internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats. Here are the Planning Tips I outlined at this same time last year. This step helps ensure your business plan is based on reality, not wishful thinking. Then work backwards from your December vision: what major milestones must you hit each quarter, each month, each week? Fun fact and resource: This year, I started adding an additional “T” to SWOTT to look at trends both in the marketplace as well as trends in business.
Build SMART Goals & 90-Day Actions
Once your intentions and pillars are aligned, you can set SMART goals—
Specific: Clearly define your goal.
Measurable: Set metrics to track progress.
Achievable: Ensure it’s realistic and aligns with your resources; this is the traditional “A” in SMART. I have adjusted the “A” to be where our Action items start to create a plan to execute.
Relevant: Aligned with the mission of your company.
Time-bound: Set a deadline for completion.
For example: “By June 30, hire two senior operations leads with onboarding completed and new process roll-out launched.” Then break this into a 90-day action cycle (‘launch job descriptions in Feb’, ‘interview in April’, ‘onboarding complete by June’). This rhythm keeps us aligned with our big vision, allowing us to take manageable monthly and weekly steps.
Embed the Plan Into Your Rhythm
Resolutions fade when they drift away. A business plan stays alive when it’s integrated into your calendar, budget, team meetings, and review cycles. Schedule dedicated time for strategic planning. Set aside a budget for marketing, hiring, or systems. Assign owners to each goal. Then establish a review routine: weekly check-ins to track progress, monthly reflections to adjust strategy, and quarterly resets to stay aligned and flexible.
By turning your New Year’s resolutions into strategic intentions, aligning them with the four business pillars, supporting them with SWOT insights, converting them into SMART goals, and integrating them into a consistent execution rhythm, you’re not just hoping for success in 2025. You’re creating it. Let this year be the one where your intentions become results, your resolutions become revenue, and your vision becomes achievable.
Here’s to making 2026 the year when your strategic business plan truly comes to life and moves your business forward.